Rudd ready for Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. {AP} Ricky Rudd is ready to win a race for the first time in nearly three years.

But if he falls short today in the Pocono 500, he'll accept his 89th consecutive defeat and move on with confidence. Rudd doesn't think he'll be losing much longer.

When he breaks through for his 21st career victory, the 44-year-old Virginian won't credit the mystique of the No. 28 car, driven to victory by Fred Lorenzen, Davey Allison and other NASCAR greats over the past 40 years.

"Maybe the fans have some preconceived idea that it's all magic in the 28," Rudd said. "There's no magic within any of these teams. It's all about hard work, team chemistry, financial support."

The Robert Yates Racing Ford long has been a sentimental favorite of the fans, something Rudd insists is not always fair to its drivers, specifically the late Kenny Irwin. He had the ride in 1998-99 and never won, then was killed last year while driving for another team.

"When I was chosen by Robert to have the opportunity to drive, it made it look like Kenny Irwin wasn't getting the job done," Rudd said. "Kenny Irwin was a fine driver, but he didn't have all the tools in the toolbox to work with when he came here.

"There was about a three-year period before I came on board when the team nosed down. It wasn't because the driver wasn't getting it done. The team needed rebuilding."

So, when Rudd finished fifth in Winston Cup points last year  only the second top-10 standing for a No. 28 driver since Allison was third in 1992  he looked like an upgrade from Irwin.

But Rudd explained that 11 to 12 people were added to the team when he signed to drive for Yates. Still, it took more than a season to bring the car to the point it's reached as a top-five contender virtually every week.

Rudd is fourth in the series standings and confident after five straight top-10 finishes.

"Freak things last year cost us three or four wins," he said. "I think we have a very good chance to win the championship this year. Winning races will come our way. I think we're too good not to win races."

But will they be good enough to win today, when an even-more-dominant Jeff Gordon goes for this third straight victory?

"We finished third in this race a year ago," Rudd said. "In the second race we were actually a little better than that but we wound up having a cut tire and hitting the fence.

"I think we're going to race better than we did last year."

Now, Rudd, who lost when Gordon passed him on the last lap to win a week ago in the Kmart 400, has the pole at Pocono International Raceway.

"I hope that mode that they're in is strictly for qualifying," Gordon said. "If they can run that fast in race trim, they're going to walk away from us.

The three-time series champion, who posted the fastest time in the final practice Saturday, said a good car, a good driver and Yates' horsepower are a difficult combination to beat.

"Rudd is in another universe," Gordon said. "He's got it figured out."

But so has Gordon, who last Sunday at Michigan International Speedway took the points lead from Dale Jarrett. Sterling Marlin, who starts second Sunday, isn't far behind. He looked like a winner in Michigan, but got a bad break when a late caution flag enabled Gordon and Rudd to run him down and relegate him to a third-place finish.

Marlin is driving a Dodge in the automaker's return to Winston Cup after a 16-year absence and having a fine season. He's third in the points, and hoping to move up with a win that would be his first since 1996 and Dodge's first since 1978.

"It could be any time now," Marlin said. "I think anywhere we go we've got a chance to win."

Ken Schrader is another driver overdue for a victory. Starting third in a Pontiac, he is seeking to win for the first time in 10 years.

Tony Stewart, who starts fourth in a Pontiac, concedes that Rudd will be very difficult to beat.